Clarion County officials have been planning for the 2020 census count for more than a year.
“We formed a committee about a year ago and have met several times,” said Clarion County Commissioner Ed Heasley. “We have been in contact with the census people in Pittsburgh and have been sending the information they requested. We have submitted the boundary lines on our GIS maps.”
Clarion Borough Mayor Brett Whitling, a member of the county’s census committee, has been involved with training and getting the public in the loop.
“We are short of census workers here,” said Heasley. Census workers in Clarion County are paid $16 an hour and are also paid mileage.
“It is part time, temporary work. It is about eight weeks of work,” said Whitling.
Heasley said other areas are also facing a shortage of census workers.
“The qualifications to become a census worker are very minimal,” said Whitling. “You must be 18 years old, a U.S. citizen and have a clean background check.”
Census employees will have a badge showing they are census workers when they come to someone’s door.
“The census people asked for retired volunteer firefighters,” said Heasley. “That is because they know everybody. It is better if the census taker is known to the resident.”
“One thing that is different this year is that the census workers will have an electronic tablet instead of a pad and pencil,” said Whitling. The Census Bureau provides the electronic device. The data collected automatically uploads.
Rural counties like Clarion face some specific problems in collecting data.
“One of the big things we tried to focus on was reaching the hard to reach areas,” said Whitling.
“A lot of that is the post office box holders. The census forms cannot be delivered to post office boxes,” said Heasley. “That makes up a substantial part of our population.”
“The invitation to participate in the census goes directly to a physical address,” said Whitling. “That is one of the reasons why having census workers is so important.”
Whitling said trust is also a factor in census participation.
The census form asks general questions.
“I have been told that it is 10 questions and 10 minutes,” said Whitling. “They don’t ask if you are a U.S. citizen. The name is not used, only the information.”
“People have to remember that the census has a major impact on federal grant money,” said Heasley. “That money goes to our schools and boroughs.”
“For every person who fills out the census it is an additional $2,100 toward local programs,” said Whitling.
Information provided by the census is also used to allocate seats in the U.S. House that are based on population.
Some places will start to receive their cards in March, but the actual census date is April 1.
“The census is kind of a snapshot of where you were April 1,” said Whitling.
Census workers will not begin the physical canvas until June.